Creative Juices Decor

Since today I told myself I would start my diet, I made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies .  Does anyone else do that?  It’s horrible, what’s my problem! :-) Lisa, one of my blog readers from   Sweet As Sugar Cookies , tested about 15 Chocolate chip cookies and I decided to try the #2 rated one (the #1 rated one had to be refrigerated and I wanted to eat the entire batch today!  Who can wait 24 hours before they eat the cookies they started to make??)  Here is the secret – BROWNED BUTTER!!!! Oh my, I’ve never made anything with browned butter but I am here to say, it is absolutely heavenly!  It gives this nice caramel flavor to the cookie.  DELICIOUS!  America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Cook's Illustrated) 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 14 Tbsp. unsalted butter (divided) 1/2 c. granulated sugar 3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar) 1 tsp. table salt 2 t...

Today’s edible fall craft is EASY and so much fun. (really, my kids made these, I just took the pictures!) (found from the Disney family fun website) What you’ll need is: * Hershey Kisses * Mini Vanilla Wafers * pretzel stick,butterscotch chip, or caramel bits. * brown icing Simply use a dab of brown icing to attach the vanilla wafer and then another dab to attach the stem which can be the pretzel piece, butterscotch chip or caramel bit ! Let them sit for 20 minutes so that the frosting can harden. Tada! Look whatcha got. A bunch of adorable eatable fall acorns I am going to make a little fall gift basket for the kids teachers with a candle, a small decorative pumpkin and a baggie of these treats. It would be a very fun fall snack to hand out to classmates too. Linked up to The Lettered Cottage Fall party  and   Southern Hospitality     ~CreativeJuicesDecor~

I am so excited to have my friend Jen do a post on here!  She doesn’t have a blog of her own (she should – she has wonderful taste and does lots of fun stuff) but when I saw her new wing chair I asked her to send me pictures and a tutorial and here is what she sent!  Reupholstering a chair is not for the faint of heart. The most time intensive part of this project is the deconstruction. Not real hard but laborious. You will sweat, get filthy dirty, and probably go through a box of band aids by the time you are through. It is also the most rewarding DIY project that I have ever done. Part 1: Taking it apart To take off the current fabric you will need: -A thin flat head screwdriver - A pair of pliers - A cup to contain the copious amount of staples you will remove (or just toss them on the ground and ask dh to sweep up later) - Tons and I mean tons of patience (now would be a great time to listen to a book on tape) So lets begin: As you remove the pieces of fab...

Can you tell they are excited? It might be because we told them we were going to build every year for the last 4 years……. Well finally, we were able to do it, and yes, we are all very excited.  Did I mention that their grandparents are right next door?  Do you know what runs through all three of my little munchkins heads? Ice cream whenever they want it. iPads to use whenever they want. No waiting Christmas morning for mom and dad to be “ready” to head over for the fun.  I have a feeling they are going to be sneaking over there more often than I’d like to admit.  And what do Grandma and Papa think about this??? They can’t wait.  (Ya, they are really great!)   Know what is also nice?  My mother-in-law LOVES flowers and my father- in- law LOVES grass…..so that means my view is already quite spectacular! I can’t wait to show you guys the next stages of construction! ~ CreativeJuicesDecor~

Oh my goodness! Anyone else out there ADORE Lara bars but can only buy them as a special treat because they cost $1.50 for a tiny bar? I was one of those people till I decided (right after I just bought a cherry pie Lara bar) that I would try to make this at home. About 10 min later (maybe even less) I had an AMAZING cherry pie bar that tasted EXACTLY like the one I just ate!  IT.... WAS..... SO.....SIMPLE!! (ok, sorry with all the caps….I am just really excited.) For those of us who are Lara bar fans you know the ingredients are simple The specific fruit, nuts, and dates.  Here is what I did. * I put 1/2 c almonds in a food processor – chopped them up good. * I then dumped them in my kitchen aid mixer * Next I added 1 c unsweetened moist but dried Bing cherries and 1 c dates into the food processor and chopped that up until it formed a ball. * I then dumped that into the kitchen aid and mixed it all together. (you may have to had kneed ...

So I guess I’ve been at this exactly ONE year! Here’s what I have realized…… Blogging isn’t easy!  BUT I love being motivated to do fun home decor projects knowing I actually have an “audience” to show them to!   Although I just looked at how many subscribers I have to my blog and seeing the # close to 1000 did make me feel very self conscious!  I have to FOCUS, BE DEDICATED and only post AMAZING things  to justify that  number!  (or maybe just continue to have fun and do whatever, phew that sounds a lot better!!) Overall though, my favorite part of blogging is I get to show you my new home projects …..it’s like buying a new outfit and having someone who actually cares, to comment on how it looks!  Thanks for hanging out with me. So for a quick rundown……… Here are my favorite projects this past year and TRUTH BE TOLD , if it wasn’t for this blog, I’m 99% sure they wouldn’t be here……. (ok, except I would still have done my brothe...

Fess up time……. I totally agree that using all natural products and organic living is a fantastic way to life your life.  Especially, if you have a million bucks, you live on a farm, or you're willing to be a guinea pig on your own natural inventions.  Sometimes though, I become overwhelmed with my efforts to try to be “ al la natural” …… As in: * Not just MAKE all your own food, you better grow your own food too. * Not just buy Toms of Maine toothpaste, but make your own out of coconut oil and baking soda  (folks, that was SO nasty!) * Not just feel proud that you canned your own food but worry that the lids you just used have BPA plastic on them and have ruined the batch! OK back to my Fess Up , Here is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. First attempt: Going shampoo less and washing my hair out of a mixture of baking soda and water and conditioning it with a water and apple cider vinegar wash.  I lasted one week because honest to ...

When we lived in San Diego we had some wonderful friends that loved cooking authentic Mexican food.  We always had fun when we came over for dinner, they taught me how to make this meal.  Since it is my husbands favorite (I know, I am always saying that) I decided it would be a great one to put on here. Begin by making your own homemade enchilada sauce.  I promise it’s easy and it tastes SO much better than canned sauce, plus you can really make the flavor and spiciness just how you want it.  Basic Green Enchilada Sauce 1.) jalapeno or serrano peppers  (or a mix of each, if I use jalapenos I would add 1 for mild and 6 for spicy.) 2.) tomatillos (these are so good and grow like weeds in my garden, for one batch of sauce I would boil around 8 medium tomatillos) Boil peppers and tomatillos around 5 minutes. (till tender) Put in blender and puree : 3.) add garlic and salt to taste. (you can add red boiled tomatoes/onion if you want also) ...

This last trip to the thrift store I spotted this cute little chair.  I had been looking for a very slim, non bulky chair to fit in the new computer spot off the kitchen in my new house.  This was exactly what I was looking for and at 5 bucks I couldn’t go wrong. Of course I didn’t like the upholstery fabric, and my "cushioned" backside  is not cushioned enough to enjoy how HARD the chair was.  Luckily for me (and my thrift store obsession) I had a piece of foam in my garage that I picked up super cheap on a different trip.  I just traced it and cut it at an angle. I happen to look at the underside and saw the writing AH Stiehl Furniture NY – since the tag looked super old I Googled the brand and found out that most likely the chairs is from 1930-40 during the depression era.   I don’t know if it is really worth a lot or anything but it’s always fun to have some history with a piece of furniture! Here she is!!!!  Isn’t she lovely ...